Anyone know what Fr. Ephrem's surname is? As it is, this article's name doesn't conform to our naming conventions (as it includes a title), nor does it distinguish this particular man from others who are known by the same name. —Dcn. Andrewtalkrandomcontribs 14:51, 22 Aug 2005 (EDT)

I added what I could find (of Philotheou) in the hopes of an article move, but haven't come across his surname. [[User:Magda|—magda (talk)]] 16:36, 22 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Spelling of Ephraim

Should not this page be under Ephraim and not Ephrem? Ephraim is the way it is spelled most often in English, and even the books written on him, refer to him as Ephraim.

Surname of Father Ephraim

Father Ephraim doesn't have a surname...no one which is a monk has a surname.What happens is they have a first name only(which is a name of an otrhodox Saint)and if he is an elder father(spiritual father responsible for a monastery) then he uses the name of that monastery in order to show that he comes from there....in the example of Father Ephraim, because he comes from Philotheou Monastery(in mount of Athos-Greece) then he is called as "Father Ephraim the Philotheitis)which means Father Ephraim from Philotheou monastery.

I hope you understand what I am trying to say...

Reginos

In practise, many monks (almost all, in the west) have surnames that secular authorities have (eg on birth certificates, drivers licenses, passports, etc). Some simply have their preferred name as their ecclesiastical name; some officially change their name based on the name of their monastery (eg Abbot Stephanos (Pantanassiotis) and his monks are all officially surnamed 'Pantanassiotis'). The only exception I can think of is Hieromonk Damascene, who appears to have officially changed his name so that Hieromonk appears to be, officially, his first name. Of course, the fact that I remember specific cases tells you how common that practise is...

All that being said, he is usually known as Elder Ephraim - much like Elder Paisios. -- Pistevo 15:09, 5 November 2005 (CST)

Reginos' point is well taken. Of course, he is correct. However, it is common to use the surname to identify a monastic more precisely -- perhaps there are a number of people with the same name from a particular monastery, even if they are separated by generations. This is why we usually try to add the surname here - just for identification/record-keeping purposes. But also we add it in parentheses to make clear that this is no longer their name according to the Church. The same goes for bishops. — FrJohn (talk)